I Need a Weapon [Open]

[Will]

Will's hiking cane just wasn't doing it anymore. Granted, the carved piece of wooden wasn't made to be used in the way Will used it. Though tough and sturdy, it was only a matter of time before it started losing durability. Whether being used as a makeshift sledgehammer or a javelin, Will used it to punish enemy pokemon when they slipped up in battle and he was merciless in the endeavor. Pokemon that got to closer were sent reeling with a well aimed swing, pokemon that ignored him were knocked over by a well aimed projectile, and pokemon that aimed to attack him directly thinking of an easy kill were quickly, brutally, proven wrong.

That how Will had found himself in the department store searching for a weapon shop. It was easy to find, but the sheer multitude of weapons made picking one a challenge. Even normal people would have trouble deciding. Will, who was far from normal standards, was challenged to even narrow them down into a area he could work with. For each weapon there was a purpose and Will couldn't really rule anything out unless finding that purpose useless. The real problem was that everything had an advantage that he could possibly use.

The breeder must have been window shopping for at least a couple of hours now. Migrating from weapon class to weapon class. The only things he'd ruled out completely were those that were much to large and cumbersome to be carried around everywhere. There were swords that the average man would have trouble carrying, let alone swinging. Every time the teen glanced at them the only thought that would come to mind on someone using such a weapon would be that they were obviously overcompensating for something else they lacked.

With a final sigh, he sat down on one of the benches provided and slowly scanned over everything once more. Having noted that the owner, a grizzled bear of a man that stood behind the counter watching everything, was puffing on a cigarette the breeder pulled out one for himself. It couldn't be taboo here if the owner deemed the rule unnecessary to adhere to. Letting the smoke fill his lungs as the beginnings of nicotine sneak into his blood stream allowed him to better organize his thoughts. He considered asking someone, but there wasn't a soul here aside himself and the owner. Many didn't bother with weapons when they had pokemon. And Will didn't really want to ask the owner himself and give away that he hadn't the faintest clue on what he was looking for.

This was something that he'd have to figure out on his own anyway.

[karaline]

Ranmaru was stunned at the size of the store.
He was dumbstruck. He usually never saw any store of this size.

Riolu on the other hand, was happily eating a snack Ranmaru bought for him a while ago. The atmosphere didn't bother her.

Ranmaru looked around, everything was so foreign.
He has been walking an looking around ever since he arrived at Irisia.

Ranmaru was slightly nervous. But he was willing to buy something eventually.

Ranmaru walked past lots of booths, his attention was captured by a few things. But, he never intended on buying them.

There was one booth that had a few pieces of jewellery. Ranmaru's attentiveness towards shiny objects pushed him to go see. There was a few bracelets, necklaces, earrings here and there.

Riolu tugged onto Ranmaru's shorts sleeve and pointed at a purple necklace.

It was a purple crystal with a black string threaded through it.

"It looks nice. I'll take it." Ranmaru said to the cashier.

The necklace wasn't expensive. It was nice to look at.

~~~

After some more walking Ranmaru was getting restless.

"It's getting awfully crowded..." He thought. Ran didn't like crowded and noisy places, "I think it's the rush hour Riolu." He said to his partner.

Just as he was turning towards the door, Riolu tugged on his shorts leg again.

"What's wrong? Do you need another snack?"

Riolu shook its head and pointed at a Weapons Shop.

"Oh wow, I had no idea they had such services here!" Ranmaru looked on happily yet, a little astonished.

Ranmaru quickly walked in and looked around.

He looked to the shopkeeper.

He was big, imposing and bear-ish.

"Wow, he looks a lot like Lord Shibata... Makes me feel more at home." Ranmaru thought happily.

Ranmaru looked around some more if he saw a Long-Sword Katana he can buy...

[Will]

Will sat there unmoving for a while, hands entwined under his chin as he stared blankly at the row of weapons. If not for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, most would consider him a statue. Finally a low growl escaped the bottom of his gut and rolled out his mouth in agitation. He was getting nowhere in his decision. Every time he ended up narrowing things down within a subset something new would come to mind and he'd have to go back and re-analyze everything. The teen was basically going in a loop. If not for the newcomer that walked in and blocked his line of sight, he could have lost hours to going through the motions.

Speaking of the newcomer, Will's eyes automatically locked on to the...what the hell was it? Boy? Girl? The breeder wasn't quite sure. However, even as he tried to process what the gender was Will was studying the newcomer and assessing everything about it. From the clothes, to the looks, and then finally eyes straying to the sword on its back. Either the kid was old fashioned or coming from a play. And who the hell would carry a sword longer than they were tall? Will's common sense struggled to comprehend the purpose of that weapon.

If it was real, and it seemed really enough, then the boy wouldn't even be able to draw it from his back. His arms would be to short to pull it fully from the sheath itself. Sure, it could be bypassed with repositioning the weapon, but if the kid was in the middle of a conflict there wouldn't be much time. And with the way it was kept snug in the obi of its robe, Will doubted that the kid would be able to position the weapon quickly enough for a draw. Frankly, the best term Will could give the sword was the title of "An Idiot's Weapon." Even that was being generous. Will sighed out one last breath of smoke and killed the remains on a trash bin.

Standing he made his way to the rows of swords. Thankful for the full head of flaming red hair to cover his eyes, he gave a discrete glance to the kid for a better look. Finally, the teen was able to determine the gender as male given the masculine features. He could very well be wrong. The kid might have been a flat chested girl instead, but considering the frequency of bishonen to average guys the teen didn't think that he'd be to far off as a guess. Idly, he picked out an average katana and tested the weight. Like any other, during his childhood Will had found a fascination in swords. Still, the teen doubted that he'd be able to use such a weapon effectively. Sure, most would consider him a genius in study, but Will didn't know if what he read could simply be applied to practice.

He really didn't want to, but considering that even the kid with a comically large weapon most likely had more experience with them than himself Will had to at least broach the subject. Slipping on a mask, Will chose to put on a facade of interested knowledge seeker. With a obvious glance at the boy, he put away the sword and approached him. "Would you be willing to part with a moment of your time?" He asked curiously.

[karaline]

"Would you be willing to part with a moment of your time?" A stranger approached Ranmaru.

He had orange hair.
His breath smelled like tobacco, he was obviously smoking not too long ago.

But, somehow,Ran knew this person was just being sarcastic.

He quickly scanned the stranger with his eyes and looked straight into his eyes like needles, piercing into them.

"Umm, what do you need me for?" He asked back innocently.

Obviously, Ranmaru was definitely not in the mood to pick a fight, nor he didn't want to draw any unwanted attention.

Ranmaru knew, what ever happens, happens.

Hopefully things won't turn out too ugly.

"I'll just have to act innocent for now," he thought.

[Will]

"Well," Will mused in his own mind, "Is this one distrustful little bastard?" The breeder was impressed despite himself. Not many took the notion to carefully examine anyone who approached them. And this kid had apparently pegged Will as some sort of threat if the caution within his eyes were any indication. Even so, Will met the gaze unwavering and unflinching. His own emerald eyes hardened ever so slightly under the facade he chose for himself. Enough to block out any depths or clues to his soul without so much so as to seem outright challenging. He became only guarded, not hostile.

He held the gaze, which pierced through the curtain that was his red hair silently as he let the boy study him. All he wanted from this boy was information, nothing more nothing less. And though it pained Will to have to tolerate him, he saw it as needed. He'd ignore the innocent act so long as the boy didn't choose to call him out on his own facade. Finally, after getting an affirmative answer he continued as if nothing happened. "Do you have any weapon training besides swordmanship, by any chance?" Start off simple. The more detailed questions could be asked later.

Though now that he thought about it, the kid might not even have training with a sword. The blade on his back could have been nothing more than show. However, it was to late to edit his question and if the boy decided to lie. Well, Will would be able to pick up on that if what he said didn't match what was written in the books. There was always a general rule of thumb of course as the books were more guidelines than defined rules. And if it came to that, Will would just go back to ignoring the boy. He could only hope that this kid was more useful than that otherwise the breeder would be back at square one with only small talk with a useless idiot to show for his troubles.

[karaline]

"Do you have any weapon training besides swordmanship, by any chance?" They stranger said again.

Ranmaru, didn't want to pick fights, he figured, maybe this guy is blunt all-round, so he stopped with the games. He gave a sigh, changed his hostility to kindness like he would usually do.

"Well, yes. I have been trained by the best. And yes, just swords. Nothing else. It kind of went through my family for a long time." Ran replied genuinely, "How about you?"

Ranmaru could see at the corner of his eye, Riolu wanted another snack.

"Should I leave and return later? Or should I take a stranger out for lunch?" Ranmaru debated with himself.

[Will]

Will eyed the boy critically now. He sounded confident enough. Trained by the best? Just who was the best and how could he be sure? Did he see this "best" conquer a nation, slaughter an army, or come out of conflicts completely unscathed? The teen could care less about family as well. Family for all intention and purpose was just a name. It held no value. Sure, it helped you develop. However, in the end and to Will's mind that was it. It only helped. At the end of the day it was up to that person to decide whether they chose to develop or not regardless of the family setting being one that hindered or enhanced. Being born to a pokemon master didn't make you and pokemon master. To the breeder, it sounded more like arrogance from the boy rather than whatever he was trying to explain.

None of this escaped his mouth though or even flickered in his eyes. "I've only looked into theory," Will admitted without shame. He knew it meant next to nothing and that's why he was trying to find something that would help him experiment with the practical side of it. One could read up on a style of fighting, committing it's ideals to memory and memorizing every attack it had to offer and have nothing to show for it other than words. Reading how to perform a cut didn't mean you could take down an enemy in a single stroke, he was painfully aware. However, Will's train of thought derailed with the boy glanced at the pokemon at his side. A Riolu that still appeared almost as innocent as a newly hatched egg. Shame that Will wasn't one to be distracted by appearances. And in his short life, he'd become aware that no one was innocent.

He could only sigh as he'd gotten nowhere in his questions. Now the source was going to slip through his fingers. Sure, he could join for lunch and even gain a free meal. Normally, he take anything he could get especially when free, but right now he wasn't in a mood for any charity. "No thanks, I'd hate to be a burden," he answered politely. "But thank you for your time," he spoke, turning back and making his way over to the swords once more. Besides, he couldn't keep this facade up forever. A useless venture that had turned out to be.